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Friday, November 30, 2012

I wanted to title this "On Wednesdays We Wear Pink," but I'm a few days late for that. I actually wore this earlier this week and received many compliments on it. I don't typically wear pink.

Essie Off The Shoulder is my go to bubble gum pink. It's a bright, hot pink with cool undertones. It doesn't give me lobster hands, and I think it works well for all seasons. Bubble gum pink is timeless, right? The formula on this is perfect. I love Essie cremes. This one went on smoothly and was opaque in two coats.

As an accent, I added Lynnderella Ghost of a Chance to my thumb and ring finger. Ghost of a Chance is filled with translucent white and pastel glitters in a sheer and shimmery base with a sprinkling of rainbow glitter.

Ghost of a Chance was a little thick for my liking. I only used one coat for this look. It required a bit of dabbing to spread out the glitter. When I first applied the polish, the white squares were all on top of one another.

Monday, November 26, 2012

My first Candy Lacquer! I never really liked indie polish until recently, but it's all I want right now. I'm kicking myself for selling off my three Nerd Lacquers I had. Yes, I had THREE Nerds. They're all gone now. Please take a moment to mourn for my loss... Now, for what you really want.

Holiday Ornaments is a rainbow mix of medium hexes and small sparkling glitter. For these pictures, I used one coat of Cult Nails Nevermore, my go to black creme, as a base. The application for Holiday Ornaments was a bit tricky for me. This polish is really packed with glitters and the base seemed a tad on the thick side. I had to dab the polish here and there to get the larger hexes where I wanted them. Luckily, I only needed one coat of the glitter to achieve this look.

To finish this off, I used a coat of Gelous topped with Seche Vite. It dried to a beautiful glassy finish. I can't stop staring at my nails. The floating glitter is mesmerizing . I'm glad that I went with black as the base for this. I don't think it gets much better than this.

Who wants in on a nail art challenge? I'm hosting my very first one in December! I'm hoping to get a few others involved with this.

This is really going to push me to try something new. I'm usually just one to paint my nails, do an accent or two, and move on. The lovely Jaclyn helped put this together with me. Feel free to join in. :)

I know, I know. I've been MIA, but it's with good cause. It's the holiday season and I work retail. You do the math! (Does anyone else picture Betty saying that?)

Anyways, I've got a good one for you today. I recently came across Glitzology via some friends in a polish group on Facebook. During a $5 sale, I picked up today's polish, Raspberry Beret, and Stuck In The Chimney which will make an appearance at a later date.

Raspberry Beret is a lovely mix of fine and medium raspberry hexes, blue "shreds" that are mostly square, and a few opal squares here and there. These photos show one coat over two coats of Illamasqua Jo'mina. I used one coat of Gelous followed by one coat of Seche Vite. The SV alone would have done the trick, but I really like super smooth look of the duo. Application was a breeze. The polish was PACKED with glitter. It applied evenly and easily. And who doesn't love Prince? Come on now!

I was so impressed by this polish that I ordered more today! Glitzology is currently running a special promotion for Small Business Saturday and it runs through Monday the 26th. $4.25 is a steal for the quality of these. Just enter SUPPORTSMALL50 during checkout. :)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A few days ago, I wore OPI German-icure for the first time. I'm not typically a fan of red polish, but this one is perfect for me. It's a beautiful blackened vampy red shimmer. It's not too bright or too dark. In the light, it's reflective and almost metallic. I actually wore this for 3 days. It's extremely versatile and I received many compliments on it.

Monday, November 12, 2012

You heard that right: WOWIE KAZOWIE. That's the only suitable title for this post. Today I have an absolutely gorgeous duo for you. Illamasqua Prosperity topped with Max Factor Fantasy Fire is pure perfection.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Rescue Beauty Lounge Jack is a beautiful dark teal with a beautiful "hidden" blue shimmer. The blue shimmer is very apparent in the bottle. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate onto the nail. If you don't have any RBL polishes, you're missing out on one of the best polish formulas I've had the experience to work with. The following pictures are two coats.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Tonight's polish change is a stunner. OPI Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow Suede was released for Fall 2010. I've been looking for OPI suedes since I started collecting polish a little less than a year ago. A wonderful lady in one of my favorite nail groups on Facebook RAOKed (Random Act Of Kindness) me! I was so surprised to randomly find this gem in my mailbox. It totally made my day. Thanks again, Jessica!

Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow is a beautiful emerald green with silvery foil shimmer throughout. Application was a little trickier than other matte polishes I own. The first coat was streaky, the second coat had a few bald spots, but the third coat... WOW. It was perfect.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

A few of you have asked for some clean up tips and tricks. Today, I have a little step by step for MY routine. By no means am I saying this is the end all and be all of polish application. This is how I do my own nails. Other techniques might work better for you.

I used cuticle remover and an orange stick not too long, so I skipped that part today. I typically use it every week or so. I keep my nippers around to snag any stray skin. Do NOT remove your entire cuticle with nippers. It's far too easy to trim them too short and cause damage. Plus, who likes the feeling of acetone on an open wound? Not me.

I've been using Nailtiques Formula 2 for about a month. It's not too bad, but I prefer Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator. My nail beds are quite small and I have a lot of free edge. I think this could be the result of biting my nails as a child, and then having acrylics for nearly 5 years. It wasn't until a year ago that I started caring about my natural nails. The pictures below are one coat of Nailtiques as a base after using Zoya Remove+ to clean the nail plate.

After allowing the base to dry, I applied my first coat of Essie Where's My Chauffeur. The first coat wasn't too bad. I was expecting a streaky mess. (Don't mind the scratch in the bottom left corner of the full hand picture. My dear cat, Ralphie, doesn't know how to retract his claws, and he got me last night.)

Have you gotten your hands on the Color Club Halo Hues yet? If not, get them as soon as possible. They're absolutely perfect in every way. A friend of mine was awesome enough to snag them for me at $5 a pop. You have no idea how giddy I was!

The first I have to show you is Halo-Graphic. This polish is a light holographic purple. As a base, I used Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator. It applied like a dream. I used two coats for these pictures, but easily could have used one if I were in a hurry. The dry time was good, but I always use a fast dry top coat. Seche Vite didn't dull the holo goodness at all.

The pictures above were taken in my bathroom lighting. Even at night the holo shines brightly. I was amazed by the effect, but knew it would be even better in sunlight.